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IDP Waiver Wire Pickups: Week 7

Good Week to Find DB Help

This list of IDP waiver wire pickups is sorted by position, and then by priorty.

Of course, IDP leagues vary widely by depth, scoring rules, and lineup settings. So to get the best measure of who to pick up in your league, check your Free Agent Finder.

It's the best fantasy football waiver wire assistant you'll find.

Sam Hubbard, Edge, Cincinnati Bengals

Hubbard followed a seeming breakthrough performance against Baltimore (9 tackles, 1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 2 QB hits) with a disappointing line in Sunday night’s win over the Giants.

He posted just 4 tackles (1 solo) and played a season low in total snaps (39) and snap share (49%). That’s enough to make you wonder if Hubbard aggravated his hamstring injury. But there’s been no such indication. And the Bengals even put him out there for an offensive snap, his first since 2018.

Hubbard’s playing time seems to have been more of a rotational move, to keep the whole group fresher.

If he settles in around 50% playing time going forward, that would be bad for his stat production. But we can take a chance this week because of the matchup with Cleveland.

The Browns have averaged 5.2 sacks allowed per game and most recently yielded 5 to a Philly defense with just 6 total sacks through the first four games.

Bengals D-linemen Trey Hendrickson and B.J. Hill also carry more upside than usual this week.

Azeez Ojulari, Edge, New York Giants

Ojulari stepped up big time in the first game after Edge Kayvon Thibodeaux landed on IR for a wrist injury.

The fourth-year player doubled his playing time, notched 2 sacks and 6 pressures, and registered his best single-game pressure rate (23%) since Week 18 of 2021.

With Thibodeaux out at least three more games, Ojulari – a former second-round pick – should continue his elevated role. The next two weeks bring the Eagles and Steelers, whose QBs have seen the second- and fifth-highest pressure rates so far, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Neville Hewitt, LB, Houston Texans

The Texans watched LBs Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and Henry To’oTo’o (concussion) leave Sunday’s win over the Patriots early. That gives the team a pretty good chance of missing at least one of them for a Week 7 visit to Green Bay. And I’ve yet to see an indication LB Christian Harris is ready to return from IR (calf).

Hewitt filled in for Al-Shaair against New England, tallying 9 tackles (6 solo) on just 39 snaps. He’d likely play at least 85% of the time if either teammate misses Week 7, and would probably be looking at full time if Al-Shaair’s out.

Hewitt’s a 10th-year player with just 44 career starts but has nine career games of 10+ tackles.

Marte Mapu, S, New England Patriots

He and Jaylinn Hawkins both started in Week 5, with Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers out. Dugger returned Sunday, and Mapu joined him in the lineup. Mapu played 58 of 66 snaps (87.9%) despite leaving in the first half with a neck injury.

Mapu didn’t post big numbers in the loss to Houston but flashed his cross-category ability. His 5 total tackles tied for third on the team. He added a half-sack and a pass breakup as well.

The modest fantasy total should make it easier to claim him. And Mapu’s LB-safety combo role gives him enticing upside.

Devon Witherspoon, CB, Seattle Seahawks

Witherspoon has endured a quiet start to the season … and – honestly – probably stayed a little too high in our weekly rankings. We’ll look to adjust that going forward, but Week 7 presents strong rebound potential. 

The Falcons entered Week 6 as a top-8 scoring matchup for fantasy DBs. That included tying for fourth in solo tackles supplied to DBs and yielding the fourth-most passes defensed. 

Atlanta has been especially friendly to slot-corner scoring. The Falcons boosted production for:

• Tampa’s Tykee Smith in Week 5
• New Orleans’ Alontae Taylor in Week 4
• and K.C.’s Chamarri Conner in Week 3 

That continued Sunday with Carolina’s Troy Hill tallying a game-high 8 solo tackles. He had no more than 3 in any of the previous five games.

Whether Witherspoon splits time between the slot and outside in Week 7 or plays exclusively outside as he did against the 49ers, he should see plenty of opportunities.

Javon Bullard, DB, Green Bay Packers

If you play in a tackle-friendly format, then give this rookie a look ahead of his Week 7 matchup with Houston.

Bullard opened the year with 11 tackles but went quieter and saw his playing time waver over the next four games. That included an empty stat line in Week 3 (despite 91% playing time in that contest) and two other weeks of snap shares smaller than 80%.

Bullard has seen his role shift some through the first six weeks, but he settled in as the primary slot CB the past two games. That remained the case Sunday against the Cardinals despite CB Jaire Alexander’s return, with CB Eric Stokes getting yanked from the starting lineup.

If Bullard continues manning the slot, he’ll be more commonly near the action than if he spent most of his snaps at deep safety. And this week’s matchup brings a Houston team that has supplied the second-most solo tackles to DBs.

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Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.